The Bus plunged downhill into a tiny pool on the asphalt, causing a sloshing echo to reverberate inside. The Bronx was mostly hills, with sharp enough turns that could nick you if you weren’t careful. With that being said, the experience of one's stomach being jostled on public transportation was a normality. In a heavy downpour turning the streets into urban waterslides, this feeling is exasperated. The smell of gas, the sound of rushing water, the feeling of airlessness - a public bus ride is a nauseating sensory overload to the uninitiated.
“This is why I’m from manhattan. We don't have to deal with this shit.” Reacto said, his reddish-brown hair bouncing to the bumps of the bus. “Why did we have to sit in the back? We have our civilian clothes on,” he said tugging on his black overcoat. Stiletto, dressed in a brown overcoat, simply shook her head.
“Because big coats don’t make a secret identity, Wally. I told you that. The back was empty, it’s raining, no one was going to pay attention to us. Let's just head home without another incident please,” she said looking around. Lucky for them, the bus was mostly empty at that time of night. There were only four other passengers, and they had all settled themselves at the front of the bus. Stiletto was still cautious about trying not to stand out. Her partner was not as concerned.
“Sil, I get it, but come on. After all we just went through, can’t you give me some sympathy here? I fought an army of robots, I’m half concussed, and now I’m being forced to hold my dinner because this guy can’t drive? I mean what kind of fucking night is this?”
“Wally calm down. We’ll be across town in ten minutes.”
“*burp.-God this is hard. I bet ranked heroes don’t have to deal with this crap,” Reacto moaned before taking heavy controlled breaths through his nose.
“You're not the only one who’s tired, you know…” Stiletto said more coldly than she intended. “Sorry-just, try to keep your composure.”
“You’re one to talk after tonight,” Reacto muttered to himself.
“What was that?” Stiletto turned to him hawkishly. Reacto did not meet her gaze. He raised his hands when he spoke.
“Look, I’m just gonna say it. I get he was our friend, but he's a scummy guy. You lost it tonight because of that jerk, and ruined a perfectly good opportunity for us. He's dangerous. You know it’d be easier for everyone if we had just beat him and took him to jail. That's all I’m saying.” he finished his piece by putting his hands down.
“He’s our friend Wally-”
-“He WAS our friend. Then boom, he's crazy. He's not the same guy, Sil.” he said, finally turning towards her just in time to see her sharped eyes fixed on him.
“That's not fair. You don’t get to say that.” she quickly objected.
“You told me how you found him. He's fine one week, doesn’t come to graduation, next you find him in a diaper.”
“He wasn’t in a diaper!” she hissed.
“Oh, so he was covered in his own filth like a normal person. That's surprising. He's normally so well prepared.”
“How can you talk that way about someone who had a full mental breakdown?”
“Easy. All they have to do is return from the psych ward, not tell their friends or family, then become an arms dealer. IT REALLY HELPS if it's not just pistols, but rayguns and automated tanks. Buries the guilt real good.” he blustered before taking in another big gulp of air to quell his nausea. Stiletto started rubbing away the growing tension from her face.
“Wally, I'm not arguing this again. I know he's done bad things.”
“For a while, Sil. And we haven't caught him. Do you know how that looks? It’s been years of this cat-mouse shit. I’m nearly thirty.”
“So am I, what's your point?”
“We aren’t kids anymore. You know, that after three years I thought we’d rank up? Get asked to work in Manhattan, join the higher-ups in The League, get a sponsorship deal! I’ve been working in the slums since day one. NOTHING has changed!” he shouted, slapping his leg. Stiletto grabbed his hand and put a finger over her mouth. He looked around to see that the few people on the bus with them were staring. He leaned closer to her.
“The only big change in our lives was the return of Carlos Reyes. Since then, it's been Groundhog Day, stuck on repeat, frozen in time. The guy can even guess my lines now Sil!” Reacto hissed. Stiletto’s face flattened at that statement.
“I mean, not to be rude Wally but you haven’t really changed it up. I guarantee the other perps we catch could probably do the same-”
“-Blah! That's not the point!”
“This job isn’t about excitement or ranking up, or sponsors, Wally. It's about doing the right thing. Even if it's repetitive, it's not a waste of time if we help people. A hero's job-”
“-Who did we help tonight other than you?” Reacto butted in. Sil’s eyes narrowed.
“Excuse me?” she snapped. Reacto held her gaze.
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